00:00The University of California is under fire for a policy that punishes students who don't use their
00:04peers' preferred pronouns. And now a lawsuit filed by conservative watchdog group defending
00:09education is trying to end that. The document under scrutiny is UC's sexual violence and sexual
00:15harassment policy. It lists intentional or repeated use of a name or pronoun inconsistent with the
00:20individual's gender identity as an example of harassment. Another section of the policy lists
00:25derogatory slurs related to sexual orientation as another example. Defending Education claims in
00:31its lawsuit that verbal speech like that is legally protected. And they go on to accuse UC's policy of
00:36being overly broad, pointing out that harassment can occur online or via text message and not just
00:41on campus. The suit also argues the penalties are too severe, including expulsion from the UC system,
00:48revocation of academic degrees, and bans from certain campus activities and locations. The post
00:53reached out to the UC system, but it did not immediately respond to a request or comment.
Comments